


Unforgiven

by Natasja



Series: Downton Abbey one-shots [1]
Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Christmas Special, F/M, Gen, Mary apologises, Mary gets called out, season 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:20:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24438103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natasja/pseuds/Natasja
Summary: Edith has forgiven malice, and risen above slights, and resigned herself to being second place, but even she has her limits.Mary knew exactly what she was doing when she exposed Marigold, and Edith was not willing to forgive the potential harm to her daughter.Not this time.
Relationships: Edith Crawley & Mary Crawley, Edith Crawley/Bertie Pelham, Edith Crawley/Michael Gregson, Mary Crawley/Henry Talbot
Series: Downton Abbey one-shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764919
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29





	Unforgiven

All Mary had heard from Edith since Bertie left was a bit of village gossip about the sister of one of the Nursery maids being hired to go with her and Marigold to London.

Edith hadn’t replied to any of the letters, from Mary or their parents. She hadn’t called or sent any messages, not even to say that she’d arrived safely. Mary had never expected that Edith would put her personal life in her magazine, but not even the worst of the gossip rags had mentioned anything about one of the few woman Editors living with a child in London.

George and Sybil missed Marigold, and made no secret of it. Another failure on Mary’s part, for all that she would never admit it. Edith had risked her reputation, her job, everything to keep her daughter, even before the family had discovered Marigold’s true identity. Yet somehow, Mary had expected her to leave her daughter behind?

Mary hadn’t been thinking, she could admit that much. She’d been bitter, clinging to a competition that Edith had stopped playing long ago. The idea that Edith would outrank her had been too much to bear, and so Mary had blurted out the one thing that would drive the new Marquis of Hexham away. She hadn’t considered that she would crush Edith’s heart in the process.

Or, worse yet, she had considered it, and decided that getting one up on her only remaining sister was more important.

It wasn’t as though Mary had the moral high ground, either. She’d slept with Mr Palmuk long before she was married, and was fortunate that an infection that led to difficulty conceiving was the only consequence. Then she’d spent a week with Tony Gillingham, and counted herself lucky that the preventative that poor Anna had been sent to purchase was as effective as promised. Mary had rejected Henry because she was scared, and promptly taken her unhappiness out on everyone else.

Especially Tom, who was part of the family, yet separate, and Mary was ashamed of herself for reminding him of it as she lashed out. Sybil would have been furious with her; another sister Mary had managed to disappoint. Even more especially Edith, who had born the brunt of Mary’s scorn for years, and yet seldom truly deserved Mary’s vitriol.

Mama had written letter after letter to Edith, begging her to come back to Downton. (Losing a daughter to marriage was one thing; a family feud was quite another.) If Edith had replied, or if this was the last straw for their parents neglecting to hold Mary to any real account, Mary had no idea.

It was harder than she expected, to sit down and write to Edith with a wedding invitation. Part of her wondered if it wasn’t adding insult to injury; inviting Edith to watch Mary get her second happy ending, after destroying Edith’s first, after her sister had suffered so many losses and disappointments. Mary sent the missive anyway, and prayed to a god she wasn’t sure she still believed in that Edith wouldn’t throw it straight into the fire.

* * *

Edith came, but she waited in the hallway, rather than coming up to help Mary get ready. Marigold was nowhere to be seen, and Edith didn’t meet her sister’s eyes, or speak to her, not even to wish her well.

Edith sat in the pew, stone-faced and silent. She stood and sat, and repeated ‘Amen’ when prompted, and otherwise acted as though she were at the wedding of a total stranger. As soon as the ceremony was over, she turned left at the church gate, heading to the train station rather than coming back to Downton for dinner.

Edith came as Mary had hoped, and left again without having spoken a word to her.

It was her wedding day, and everyone was watching her. Mary would not cry at having lost her remaining sister. Not now, at least.

Mary was sorry for her spiteful outburst. She had even said so (in a roundabout, defensive, not-really-my-fault way)! What more did Edith want before she stopped sulking and admitted that it was her fault?

Mary forced herself to stop thinking like that. Edith hadn’t told Mary about her daughter because she knew that Mary would hold it over her or use it against her. As events had proven, she had been right to do so. Mama and Papa and Tom and Aunt Rosamund had known, and possibly even Granny. None of them had said a word.

Mary owed Edith a true apology, and needed to find some way to make amends and show true repentance.

Lord Hexham was probably at least as miserable as Edith was. Perhaps he would be more receptive to a proper apology…

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Edith should have been more open with Bertie about Marigold, and I think she would have been once she felt more secure.   
> Mary still had no right to force it out at the breakfast table, in front of guests and staff. She especially shouldn't have got off scot-free, and Edith shouldn't have forgiven her so easily.


End file.
